2 found stealing coconuts bound to tree

The duo were caught red-handed stealing coconuts and were tied to a tree by villagers while waiting for the police to arrive.

SITIAWAN: Two men were tied to a coconut tree by villagers after they were found stealing the fruit in the compound of Sekolah Agama Rakyat Al-Hidayah in Kampung Batu 7 Lekir, here, yesterday.

A footage of this incident has gone viral on social media, including Facebook.

In the 10.30am incident, several villagers successfully nabbed the two individuals who were unaware that the owner of a grocery store nearby had spotted them climbing the five-metre high tree.

Former village head Mohd Yaacob Hashim, 65, who is also a resident nearby, said he and 10 others went to the scene after receiving the news. They found one of the suspects in a Proton Wira, while another was heading to a shop nearby.

“There were bunches of coconuts in the car, and I was not sure whether the fruits were taken from our village or from elsewhere.

“(However) they admitted to having taken the coconuts (from the tree) and we then tied them both to the tree with the rope they had used to pluck the fruit,” he said when met here today.

Yaacob said the purpose of binding the two suspects – one in his teens and another in his early 30s – was to teach them a lesson.

Yaacob said the two suspects had begged to be released, confessing it was the first time they had done such a thing.

“We tied both of them to the tree while waiting for police to arrive, but we did not hit or hurt them.

“Who would have thought in this blessed month there were still people who performed immoral activities (like stealing),” he added. -FMT